[maxxxxx]

These books usually describe a very idealized version of the real world. I think the only way to find out what mid level managers do is to ask them or ideally to shadow them for a few days.

I think shadowing other roles would generally be very beneficial in a lot of companies so people understand each other better. I have had a lot of occasions where I basically thought that some role is useless until I worked with them and found out what they have to put up with the whole day.

[wearsaredhat]

Certainly they do. And the book admits as much. In my opinion, it is still a valuable read as it gives a generalized lens through which a large org’s structure, and activities at each layer, can be understood.